Written Answers

Monday 11 September 2000

Scottish Executive

Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to assist fishermen in relation to the Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning) (West Coast) (Scotland) Order 2000 and the Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning) (West Coast) (No.2) (Scotland) Order 2000.

Mr John Home Robertson: My answer to question S1W-9281 confirms the Scottish Executive’s position on compensation and possible assistance for the scallop sector through the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) programme.

  In February this year, I introduced a relaxation to licensing and quota management provisions to allow certain vessels with Category C licences which were affected by the scallop fishery closures to fish for West of Scotland nephrops until the end of August.

  In view of the most recent closures off the west coast, I have decided to extend this relaxation to the end of the year.

Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to make any financial assistance available for any fishermen who stand to lose income due to the current restrictions on scallop fishing.

Mr John Home Robertson: It has been the policy of successive governments not to compensate for losses due to disease or other natural phenomena in the marine environment. The Scottish Executive sees no case to change that position.

  More generally, financial assistance for the industry will be available under the new Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) programme.

Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has increased the resources available for research into the shellfish toxin Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning and, if so, by how much.

Mr John Home Robertson: Following the widespread occurrence of Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) in 1999 a new three-year research project, with an annual estimated cost of £27,498, was commenced in April 2000. The objectives of the project are to identify the algal species responsible for ASP and to assess their seasonal and geographical distribution.

  In addition, the Food Standards Agency is committed to spend nearly £1 million in the next three years on research into algal toxins, of which one third can be attributed to ASP.

Bridges

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received a request from Fife Council to abolish tolls on all estuarial bridges as part of its response to the consultation on the Transport (Scotland) Bill and what its position would be in relation to any such request.

Sarah Boyack: Fife Council recognise the need to tackle congestion on the Forth Road Bridge and support legislation in the Transport (Scotland) Bill to establish a new Joint Board with wider powers.

European Funding

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what European funding is available in total for roads in Scotland; what level of European funding is available in respect of which roads, and what representations and applications have been made regarding European funding for roads.

Mr Jack McConnell: Of the new Structural Fund Programmes for the 2000-06 programming period, only the Highlands & Islands Special Transitional Programme provides support for strategic investments in communications and infrastructure, including roads and bridges. No specific amount is set aside for particular projects. The deadline for first round applications for European funding was 7 September with decisions expected on 6 December.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those government or external fisheries advisory or policy making groups (a) sponsored by the Rural Affairs Department or (b) on which the Scottish Executive is represented.

Mr John Home Robertson: The Scottish Executive has established a number of standing advisory groups on fisheries matters, including the Scottish Inshore Fisheries Advisory Group, the Tripartite Working Group and the Aquaculture Health Joint Working Group, and also sets up ad hoc groups from time to time to consider specific issues.

  The Scottish Executive is represented on a wide range of UK and international advisory and policy making groups which consider issues of relevance to fisheries.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the value of the scallop industry in Scotland was for each of the last three years for which information is available.

Mr John Home Robertson: The value of scallop and queen scallop landings into Scotland by UK vessels in the last three years was £17.81 million in 1997, £17.98 million in 1998 and £16.48 million in 1999. The Scottish Executive does not hold figures for the sell-on value to the scallop industry after landing.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has undertaken research into the impact of industrial fishing on freshwater fisheries and wild fish stocks and, if so, when this was carried out and what the results were.

Mr John Home Robertson: During the 1990s, Fisheries Research Services participated in a number of collaborative projects to address the issue of whether the sandeel fishery had potential implications for wild salmonid stocks.

  Direct impacts were investigated by placing observers on sandeel trawlers off the Scottish east coast. No by-catch of salmon smolts was encountered. Potential indirect effects include the suggestion that the sandeel fishery might remove an important source of food for salmonids. An assessment of this possibility concluded that sandeels were just one of many prey species taken by salmonids, and that a properly managed sandeel fishery was unlikely to threaten the availability of this particular food source.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how the importation of fish eggs for the ultimate purpose of stocking our freshwater fisheries is regulated, how many applications there have been for import in each of the last five years, how many applications were accepted and what type of eggs were imported.

Mr John Home Robertson: Importation is regulated by the Fish Health Regulations 1997 and the Diseases of Fish Act 1937 for imports from EU and non-EU countries respectively.

  Fish eggs of native species can be imported, without application, from EU zones and farms with fish health status equivalent to our own, provided consignments are notified in advance. No notifications have been made in the last five years. No applications from non-EU countries have been made or granted in the last five years.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what controls there are relating to the use of non-native species as live bait in the freshwater fisheries sector.

Mr John Home Robertson: The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it an offence to release any fish not native to Great Britain into the wild without a licence. The Import of Live Fish (Scotland) Act 1978 also gives powers to Scottish Ministers to prohibit the import, keeping or release of fish that are not native to Scotland which might compete with, displace, prey on or harm the habitat of any freshwater fish, shellfish or salmon in Scotland. To date, only three Orders have been made under the 1978 Act. Whether further Orders should be made to prohibit other species which may be used as live bait will be considered under the Protecting and Promoting Scotland’s Freshwater Fish and Fisheries review.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish in summary form the results of any recent government-sponsored studies into the impact of the introduction of non-native fish stocks to Scotland’s rivers on native fish stocks.

Mr John Home Robertson: There are currently no government-sponsored studies into the impact of the introduction of non-native fish stocks. However, the Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory maintains a watching brief on the distribution of freshwater fish species.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its expenditure has been on the freshwater fisheries sector for each of the last three years.

Mr John Home Robertson: The Scottish Executive’s primary investment in this area is through the Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory (FFL), part of Fisheries Research Services. SERAD expenditure at FFL for the years 1997-98,1998-99 and 1999-2000 was £1.28 million, £1.27 million and £1.77 million respectively.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many submissions relating to Protecting and Promoting Scotland’s Freshwater Fish and Fisheries it has received, whether it will continue to accept submissions and when it expects to publish its final proposals for consultation.

Mr John Home Robertson: As at 24 August, 186 responses had been received. The closing date for submissions, originally scheduled for 4 August, was extended to 31 August. An analysis of the responses will be undertaken and a statement on follow-up action will be made in due course.

Historic Sites

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it gives to planning authorities about the identification, excavation, conservation and presentation of battlefield sites and what advice it has given to Stirling Council either directly or through Historic Scotland in connection with current development proposals on land bounded by the Bannock Burn, Pelstream and Balquidderock Wood east of Stirling.

Sarah Boyack: National Planning Policy Guideline (NPPG) 18 - Planning and the Historic Environment was published in April 1999. This guideline indicates that historic battlefields are a particularly significant element of Scotland’s historic environment.

  In addition, Historic Scotland is currently reviewing ways of pursuing the recognition and protection of Scotland’s battlefield sites and a position paper has been prepared. This is sent to anyone seeking advice on battlefield protection. Stirling Council’s archaeologist has received a copy.

  I understand that no development proposals have been submitted to Stirling Council for the land to which you refer and, accordingly, no advice has been given in this respect by the Scottish Executive.

Justice

Elaine Thomson (Aberdeen North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any cases have been awaiting a judgment from Sheriff Principal Douglas Risk for more than two years and, if so, how many and for how long and how many cases have been awaiting a judgment for more than six, 12 or 18 months.

Mr Jim Wallace: Judgments Outstanding 




More than 6 months 


Nil 




More than 12 months 


2 




More than 18 months 


1 




More than 2 years 


4

Justice

Elaine Thomson (Aberdeen North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases have been awaiting a judgment from Sheriffs in the Sheriffdom of Grampian, Highland and Islands other than Sheriff Principal Douglas Risk for more than six, 12, 18 months or two years.

Mr Jim Wallace: Judgments Outstanding 




More than 6 months 


12 




More than 12 months 


1 




More than 18 months 


1 




More than 2 years 


Nil

Kingston Bridge

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8927 by Sarah Boyack on 17 August 2000, why the terms of settlement of the two court actions against the consulting engineers who designed the Kingston Bridge are confidential to the two parties and not open to public scrutiny.

Sarah Boyack: It was a condition of the settlement that the terms would not be disclosed and would remain confidential to the parties beyond that the actions had been settled out of court without any admission of liability by the defendants and each party had borne its own expenses.

Parliamentary Questions

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why it took almost three months to answer question S1W-1414.

Donald Dewar: The six-fold increase in the number of parliamentary questions being answered by the Scottish Executive since devolution has placed significant pressures on the organisation and some answers take longer to be processed than we would wish. We are constantly seeking to improve our performance in this respect although the number of parliamentary questions being tabled continues to increase.

Rail Network

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to provide details of what directions, guidance or representations it has made to the shadow strategic rail authority regarding the upgrading of the rail line between Ayr and Mauchline.

Sarah Boyack: Under the provisions made in the UK Transport Bill, introduced on 1 December 1999, the Scottish Ministers will be able to issue directions and guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) for passenger rail services that begin and end in Scotland (effectively the ScotRail franchise). Since the Bill has not completed its passage through Parliament at Westminster, the Scottish Ministers are not yet able to exercise these powers.

  We will, however, shortly be consulting on strategic priorities for Scotland’s railways as part of the process of developing directions and guidance to the SRA. During this process we will give consideration to a wide range of issues, including proposals such as upgrading the railway line between Ayr and Mauchline.

Roads

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its commitment to implement the A1 special road extension from Haddington to Dunbar will stand in the event that any delays in finalising design details or obtaining statutory consents cause any slippage in the previously announced timetable for implementation and funding of the project.

Sarah Boyack: Our commitment is to deliver the A1 scheme. Our plan is to start next year but as the Strategic Roads Review: Scheme Decisions states, this is subject to satisfactory completion of statutory procedures. If there are significant procedural delays, the situation will have to be reviewed when the statutory procedures are complete.

Roads

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were employed and at what cost in the Scottish Development Department’s National Roads Directorate and how staffing was allocated in the Directorate in 1997; what the comparable complement and costs are in 2000, and what reallocation of duties there has been since 1997 in the light of any reduction in motorway and trunk roads construction since that date.

Sarah Boyack: The number of staff employed in the National Roads Directorate in October 1997 was 93.5. The staff cost for the year 1997-98 was £2,376,726.

  The staff deployment was:

  


Senior Management and support 


6 




Project Design Division 


28 




Project Construction Division 


27 




Network Management Division 


32.5 




  In 1999, the Directorate was reorganised to provide two new divisions with the following deployment and the complement in March 2000 was:

  


Road Network Management and Maintenance Division 


51 




Design and Construction Division 


44 




  The staff cost for this year (2000-01) is expected to be £2,591,757.

  The changes reflect the priority now being given to redressing maintenance backlogs on the existing network and the investment targets set out in Travel Choices for Scotland, Strategic Road Review.

Rural Affairs

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it maintains records of incidents of ragwort poisoning and, if so, whether it will publish them for the last five years broken down geographically.

Ross Finnie: Ragwort poisoning is not a notifiable disease. There is therefore no statutory requirement for cases to be notified to the Scottish Executive. However, the Scottish Executive funds disease surveillance through the Scottish Agriculture College Disease Surveillance Centres (SACDSC) and records are kept of ragwort poisoning submissions. The numbers of cases recorded by SACDSC since 1995 are as follows:

  

 

Cattle 


Horses 




1995 


4 


0 




1996 


10 


0 




1997 


3 


1 




1998 


2 


1 




1999 


3 


0 




2000 (to end of July) 


0 


0 




  Other cases of ragwort poisoning will be treated by veterinary surgeons in practice, or submitted to veterinary colleges, or private laboratories, without being recorded.

Rural Affairs

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking or intends to take to reduce the incidence of ragwort poisoning.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive investigates all reported incidents of ragwort on land where livestock are at risk, whether or not the land is in agricultural use.

  The Weeds Act 1959 places the responsibility for weeds control on the occupier of the land, and where livestock may be at risk, in the first instance, the Scottish Executive advises the occupier to carry out control measures. Where necessary, powers are available under the Weeds Act to give occupiers of land formal written notice requiring them to take such measures, failing which the Act has powers to enable the Executive, as a last resort, to employ control measures themselves and thereafter charge the occupier accordingly.

  Local authorities may also take action either under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 or the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 which provide powers for local authorities to serve notice on an occupier of any land which is harming the amenity of the area.

Rural Affairs

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it issues any guidelines on the management of ragwort on ground under its ownership or control or under the ownership or control of any of its agencies or local authorities.

Ross Finnie: No. But the Scottish Executive funds the Scottish Agriculture College to provide advice to farmers and horse owners on a wide variety of livestock diseases. The most recent Technical Note entitled Ragwort Poisoning in Livestock – Prevention and Control was published earlier this year. It is available free to Scottish Agriculture College subscribers and to other interested parties on request.

  I shall arrange for a copy of the Technical Note to be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Scottish Executive Staff

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total numbers and percentages of its staff based at Victoria Quay are who live within the City of Edinburgh and other local authority areas.

Mr Jack McConnell: The information requested is set out in the table below, as at 1 August 2000.

  


Local Authority (home address) 


Number of Permanent Staff (headcount) 


Percentage of all staff 




Edinburgh 


713 


59% 




East Lothian 


124 


10% 




Midlothian 


94 


8% 




Fife 


74 


6% 




West Lothian 


70 


6% 




Glasgow 


33 


3% 




Borders 


15 


1% 




Perth & Kinross 


14 


1% 




Falkirk 


15 


1% 




Other/unknown 


56 


5% 




TOTAL 


1,208 


100%

Scottish Legal Aid Board

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what mileage costs have been incurred by or on behalf of the Scottish Legal Aid Board since 1997 on an annual basis.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Legal Aid Board does not currently record separately mileage costs incurred by staff, solicitors, counsel and professional witnesses.

Telecommunications

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide definitive guidance to all Scottish local authorities on the siting of telecommunications masts, particularly the siting of those masts near primary schools and high rise flats and, if not, why not.

Sarah Boyack: I intend to issue for consultation a draft national planning policy guideline and draft planning legislation on telecommunications development. A planning advice note containing information and advice on siting and design will be issued to accompany the final version of the new legislation and policy guidance.

Tourism

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the Scottish Tourist Board and the British Tourist Authority have spent on marketing Scotland in Vienna since the opening of the direct flight by Tyrolean Airlines.

Henry McLeish: This is a matter for the Scottish Tourist Board and the British Tourist Authority. The information requested is not held centrally.

Tourism

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has given the Scottish Tourist Board and the British Tourist Authority any instructions or input regarding the marketing of Scotland in Austria, what funding it has provided to these bodies for this purpose and how much they have spent on any such marketing.

Henry McLeish: No. This is a matter for the Scottish Tourist Board and the British Tourist Authority. The information requested is not held centrally.

Tourism

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent since 1997 on promoting Scotland at the annual International Tourist Board travel fair in Berlin and what input it had to any such promotion.

Henry McLeish: This is a matter for the Scottish Tourist Board. The information requested is not held centrally.

Tourism

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it or other organisations acting on its behalf have taken to market Scotland as a golf tourism destination.

Henry McLeish: I draw Mr MacAskill’s attention to the National Strategy for Golf Tourism , published by the Executive and the Scottish Tourist Board in July 2000. Copies are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.